Setting an Intention
by amilner24
Summary: Yoga involves an aspect of spiritual awakening and self-understanding. Setting an intention can bring your yoga practice and life to a deeper level. An intention can help direct your actions and decisions as well as connect your mind, body, and heart. How does setting an intention affect Oliver Queen?


Hi all. I'm not certain if it has been done before but for some reason I couldn't get the idea of Emily teaching yoga out of my head (and Felicity has a yoga mat at home). Just a short AU drabble starts sometime in early season 1 where he has yet to meet Dig or Felicity. Also, this is taking on a different path as I'm writing this. So I hope you like it! Also, I don't own anything and while this is not Beta'd, I will try to revisit the story and check for errors but any comments and suggestions are welcome!

Setting an Intention

To say that Oliver Queen is stressed would be an understatement. It would be the understatement that would put all understatements to shame. Coming back from an island (literally named purgatory) to cross off names as Starling City's vigilante from a notebook while being a son, brother, and friend is not easy. And on top of that, he puts on the billionaire playboy persona. Oliver Queen is stressed. No doubt about it. The man radiates tension everywhere he goes.

Oliver is alone in his makeshift base, grateful that he easily got away from his bodyguard. He knows he will get an earful from his mother, which he will have to deal with later. He puts on his coat and as he pulls out the keys to his bike,a small envelope falls out of his pocket. He picks it up and remembers his brief conversation with Thea earlier that day.

_Before leaving for school, Thea hands him a small envelope. Oliver looks at it and asks, "What's this?". His sister, bless her heart, "It's a gift card for a yoga studio near the Glades. And before you ask, it's decent and still fairly new. Ollie, there's a lot of stuff going on and I feel like you need to de-stress even just for a few minutes of the day. I'm not asking you to talk, please, just try, Ollie." She smiles and then leaves._

He sighs and quietly acquiesces. "Tomorrow", he says to no one, "I'll give it a shot".

He finds himself in front of Star Yoga, a small yoga studio that appears to be well-maintained. He starts having second thoughts. "This was not how I imagined spending my Friday night", he mumbles to himself. He remembers Thea asking him to try this and decides to enter. The smell of lavender hits him first. A petite woman by the counter checks him in and lets him know that the class is 90 minutes long, heated, and candlelit. She hands him a mat and a towel and points him to the locker room where he could get changed. As he passes by the practice room, he notices a few people already setting up and stretching. He goes into the changing rooms and decides to leave his shirt on - candlelit or not, he will not let anyone see his scars.

The heat, humidity,and darkness greet him as he enters the room. There are a few candles around the room. He sets up his mat in the back corner and sits cross-legged, waiting for the class to start. More people come in and he realizes he might be in one of the popular classes though it's not too crowded that it is suffocating. He continues to wait, cross-legged and eyes closed but still hyper aware.

He feels a change in the room and opens his eyes. He notices a flash of blonde walking to the front of the class. Despite the lack of lights,his eyes follow her and he could make out a toned body and... dimples? Oliver shakes his head. Then he hears her voice. "Hello, everyone my name is Felicity and I will guide you through your practice". Felicity. Her name rolls off his tongue quite nicely. His eyes are fixed on her and for a moment Oliver wishes he could see her clearly. "Do we have any newcomers to this class?" And against his better judgment, he raises his hand automatically, as if he is eager to let her know. "So much for being low key, you schoolboy", he thinks. His regret was forgotten as he was rewarded with a smile from Felicity. She gives some instructions and warnings before starting and though she is talking to the 20 plus people in the room, Oliver feels like she is talking to him directly. "Just get through this", chides a voice in his head.

"Okay, let's begin. Stand in the middle of your mat, hands at heart center" She demonstrates, he follows. "And close your eyes. Take a deep breath through your nose and exhale through your mouth. I'll be offering hands on adjustments so if you prefer to not be touched, please raise your right hand and I will respect your space". Oddly enough Oliver's hands stay in heart center. He doesn't know why the idea of her touching him doesn't raise red flags. In fact, the class has started and he thinks she is soothing and not in a fake way. He lets himself imagine following her instructions, her voice in his ears. He hears her again, "Before we flow, I would like to invite you to set an intention for your practice, it can be a simple word or feeling that you would like to focus on and commit to. To those who may need a bit of help, let me offer you the following: "I am strong, I am worthy, and I deserve happiness". A few beats pass and Oliver clenches his jaw. He wanted to negate everything Felicity just suggested and leave the room. But he didn't. "Breathe your intention in, exhale to share it to the room". He follows, yet again. "Seal your lips, and breathe through the nose and exhale through your nose. This is called Ujjayi breathing, which is done as a way to calm and find balance while building heat in your body. You'll notice that the sound generated from your throat is like that of an ocean". He transports himself back in Lian Yu, where he could hear the sound of the ocean. Oddly enough, it doesn't freak him out.

He opens his eyes once again and spots Felicity. While the poses are challenging, Felicity makes them easy to follow and understand. She demonstrates each pose and walks around to offer adjustments. During warrior 2, she walks behind him. He knows she saw him freeze when she touched his arms and knee to fix his alignment. She didn't back off and continued to correcting his stance and spoke in a very low voice, "you want to keep engaging your inner thigh and work outward to your knee so it's not sneaking inwards". He nods and sneaks a glance at her and notices for the first time that her eyes are blue. She smiles again and he is unsure if it was the candles illuminating her.

For the rest of class, Oliver works up a sweat and not just from the heat of the room. He is focused on getting his alignments right and actively engaging his body. He thinks, "I am strong". They get to camel pose, a heart opener, as Felicity mentioned. He bends his back and Felicity kneels beside him to support him. He feels encouraged that he can bend further and reach his heels. He takes shallow breaths and suddenly feels overwhelmed. He pretends it's the sweat dripping to his eyes, but he knows it isn't. He's not ashamed when Felicity guides him back. She addresses the class, "Sit on your heels and take a moment to breathe. Heart opening poses can leave you overwhelmed and vulnerable. You may have some trapped tensions, problems and emotions. This pose can help you confront such unresolved issues. Just breathe. You were breathing during the best and worst times of your life. You are strong, you are worthy, and you deserve happiness". He blames that camel pose for holding on to everything Felicity said.

They move along and Oliver, for the first time in years, honestly lost track of time. They do happy baby pose where he didn't hesitate to flutter his lips and smile when Felicity suggested them to be happy babies and not be grumpy babies.

Soon after, they were settling into savasana. Felicity notes that it can be hard as you fully surrender any muscle or breath control, just lay down on your mat and let go. Oliver successfully fights off the itch to rub his index finger and thumb together. He feels different. Good different. He then feels a disappointment that this is temporary. He smells lavender again and feels a touch on his neck. It's Felicity. The disappointment drifts away as she massaged his neck and shoulders. It was brief but comforting. He knows what awaits him after this class and basks in the ghost of Felicity's touch and the lingering smell of lavender.

Felicity guides them to the end of class with 3 cleansing breaths. "With your eyes closed, bring your thumbs to third eye center. The teacher and light in me, respects and honors the teacher and light in all of you. Namaste." He finds himself joining the class as they bow and respond "Nameste". He opens his eyes and he sees Felicity, with a sheen of sweat and the brightest smile, he knows for sure it wasn't just the candlelight and addresses the class one final time "Thank you once again for letting me guide you through your practice, if you have any questions, have comments or just want to say hey, I'll be right outside. Have a good night everyone." Everyone responds back with a thank you and a good night. She passes by him as he rolls up his mat and folds his sweaty towel. "You did very well for your first time. I hope you find it beneficial and practice regularly". She smiles again and he smiles back. He doesn't say anything else.

On his way out, he sees her animatedly talking to a group of her students who seem to be just as engaged as she was. He wanted to stick around and talk to her but he can't. He is not ready. Oliver catches her eye on his way out. She tilts her head and smiles at him. That was enough for him. He smiles back.

With everything that happened in the following weeks, he didn't get a chance to come back to the studio. He smiles to himself when he catches a whiff of lavender and he thinks he could feel her fingers on his knee, neck, and shoulders. He'll at least have that. He still practices yoga when he is alone. Felicity's voice in his head guiding him throughout his practice.

A few weeks later, he never thought he'd be grateful for a shot up laptop but as he went down to the IT department of Queen Consolidated, asked for Felicity Smoak, and was greeted by a flash of blonde and a red pen, he realizes, he might just be worthy.

It takes him years to realize and accept that he deserves happiness. Happiness that has been there all along. And just like the first time he saw her, he notices a flash of blonde but this time under the intricate veil and he still sees her bright, dimpled smile just for him, her Oliver. As he recited his wedding vows, Oliver makes a note to thank her for helping him set an intention that Friday night. Thanks to her, he realized and worked hard to be strong, worthy, and deserving of happiness, his Felicity.


End file.
